Commander of the Canadian Army

Commander of the Canadian Army (French: commandant de l'Armée canadienne) is the title of the institutional head of the Canadian Army. This appointment also includes the title of Chief of the Army Staff (French: chef d'état-major de l'Armée) and is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.

Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff
Incumbent Lieutenant-General Michael Wright since 13 July 2024
Canadian Army
Type	Army commander
Abbreviation	CCA
Member of	Armed Forces Council Army Staff
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Precursor	Chief of the Land Staff
Formation	1875 (as General Officer Commanding the Militia) 2011 (as Commander of the Army)
First holder	Sir E.S. Smyth (as General Officer Commanding the Militia) Peter Devlin (as Commander of the Army)
Deputy	Deputy Commander of the Canadian Army
Website	Official website

History of the position

Prior to 1904, militia forces in Canada were commanded by senior British Army officers appointed as General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia.^[1] British regular forces in the Dominion had their own commander until the withdrawal of the last British garrison in 1906. From 1903 to 1904, the Canadian Militia embarked on a new period of modernization that included the creation of a new office of Chief of the General Staff. Between 1904 and 1964, eighteen officers held the position of Chief of the General Staff, with the last of these, Lieutenant General Geoffrey Walsh, having officially stood down the appointment on 31 August 1964 following the official integration of the three armed services into a single Canadian Armed Forces.^[2]

Following the unification of Canada's military forces^[3] in February 1968, the majority of Canada's land element was assigned to the newly created Force Mobile Command and the senior Canadian army officer was then known as Commander of Mobile Command from 1965 to 1993. The command was renamed Land Force Command, and its senior officer was known as Chief of the Land Staff from 1993 to 2011.^[4] Land Force Command was officially re-designated as the Canadian Army in 2011, at which time the appointment was also renamed Commander of the Canadian Army to reflect this.^[5]

Appointees

Flag of the Chief of the General Staff

The following table lists all those who have held the post of Commander of the Canadian Army or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:^[6]

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia
1		Smyth, E.Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Selby Smyth (1819–1896)	1875	1880	4–5 years
2		Luard, R.Major-General Richard Luard (1827–1891)	1880	1884	3–4 years
3		Middleton, F.Major-General Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton (1825–1898)	1884	1890	5–6 years
4		Treowen, I.Major-General Ivor Herbert (1851–1933)	1890	1895	4–5 years
5		Gascoigne, W.Major-General Sir William Gascoigne (1844–1926)	1895	1898	2–3 years
6		Hutton, E.Major-General Sir Edward Hutton (1848–1923)	1898	1900	1–2 years
7		Haly, R.Major-General Richard O'Grady Haly (1841–1911)	1900	1902	1–2 years
8		Dundonald, D.Major-General The Rt Hon. Earl of Dundonald (1852–1935)	1902	1904	1–2 years
Chief of the General Staff
1		Lake, P.H.N.Major-General Sir Percy Lake (1855–1940)	1904	1908	3–4 years
2		Otter, W.D.Major-General Sir William Otter (1843–1929)	1908	1910	1–2 years
3		Mackenzie, C. J.Major-General Sir Colin Mackenzie (1861–1956)	1910	1913	2–3 years
4		Gwatkin, W.G.Major-General Sir Willoughby Gwatkin (1859–1925)	1913	1920	5–6 years
5		MacBrien, J. H.Major-General Sir James MacBrien (1878–1938)	1920	1927	6–7 years
6		Thacker, H. C.Major-General Herbert Cyril Thacker (1870–1953)	1927	1929	1–2 years
7		McNaughton, A. G. L.Major-General Andrew McNaughton (1887–1966)	1929	1935	5–6 years
8		Ashton, E. C.Major-General Ernest Charles Ashton (1873–1957)	1935	1938	2–3 years
9		Anderson, T. V.Major-General Thomas Victor Anderson (1881–1972)	1938	1940	1–2 years
10		Crerar, H. D. G.Major-General Harry Crerar (1888–1965)	1940	1941	0–1 years
11		Stuart, K.Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart (1891–1945)	1941	1943	1–2 years
12		Murchie, J. C.Lieutenant-General John Carl Murchie (1895–1966)	1944	1945	0–1 years
13		Foulkes, C.Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969)	1945	1951	5–6 years
14		Simonds, G. G.Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds (1903–1974)	1951	1955	3–4 years
15		Graham, H. D.Lieutenant-General Howard Graham (1898–1986)	1955	1958	2–3 years
16		Clark, S. F.Lieutenant-General Samuel Findlay Clark (1909–1998)	1958	1961	2–3 years
17		Walsh, G.Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh (1909–1999)	1961	1964	2–3 years
Commander of Mobile Command
1		Allard, J. V.Lieutenant-General Jean Victor Allard (1913–1996)	1965	1966	0–1 years
2		Anderson, W.Lieutenant-General William Anderson (1915–2000)	1966	1969	2–3 years
3		Turcot, G.Lieutenant-General Gilles Turcot (1917–2010)	1969	1972	2–3 years
4		Milroy, W.Lieutenant-General William A. Milroy (1920–2006)	1972	1973	0–1 years
5		Waters, S.Lieutenant-General Stanley Waters (1920–1991)	1973	1975	1–2 years
6		Chouinard, J.Lieutenant-General Jacques Chouinard (1922–2008)	1975	1977	1–2 years
7		Paradis, J. J.Lieutenant-General Jean Jacques Paradis (1928–2007)	1977	1981	3–4 years
8		Belzile, C. H.Lieutenant-General Charles H. Belzile (1933–2016)	1981	1986	4–5 years
9		Fox, J.Lieutenant-General Jim Fox	1986	1989	2–3 years
10		Foster, K.Lieutenant-General Kent Foster (born 1938)	1989	1991	1–2 years
11		Gervais, J.Lieutenant-General Jim Gervais (born 1938)	1991	1993	1–2 years
Chief of the Land Staff
1		Reay, G.Lieutenant-General Gord Reay (1943–2000)	1993	September 1996	2–3 years
2		Baril, M.Lieutenant-General Maurice Baril (born 1943)	September 1996	September 1997	1 year
3		Leach, W.Lieutenant-General William Leach (1942–2015)	September 1997	August 2000	2 years, 11 months
4		Jeffery, M.Lieutenant-General Mike Jeffery	August 2000	May 2003	2 years, 9 months
5		Hillier, R.Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier (born 1955)	May 2003	4 February 2005	1 year, 9 months
6		Caron, M.Lieutenant-General Marc Caron (born 1954)	4 February 2005	June 2006	1 year, 3 months
7		Leslie, A.Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie (born 1957)	June 2006	June 2010	4 years
8		Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin	June 2010	21 July 2011	1 year, 1 month
Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff
1		Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin	21 July 2011	July 2013	1 year, 11 months
2		Hainse, M.Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse (born 1964)	July 2013	January 2016	2 years, 6 months
3		Wynnyk, P.Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk (born 1964)	January 2016	16 July 2018	2 years, 6 months
4		Lanthier, J.Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier	16 July 2018	20 August 2019	1 year, 1 month
5		Eyre, W.Lieutenant General Wayne Eyre	20 August 2019	16 June 2022	2 years, 9 months
6		Paul, J.Lieutenant-General Jocelyn Paul	16 June 2022	13 July 2024	2 years, 10 months
7		Wright, M. C.Lieutenant-General Michael Wright	13 July 2024	Incumbent	10 months

See also

• Chief of the Defence Staff, the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces after the Commander-in-Chief
• Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy
• Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, institutional head of the Royal Canadian Air Force